Yasmin Afina

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An attendee controls an AI-powered prosthetic hand during the 2021 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

As AI technologies are developed and deployed at scale, concern is growing around the risks they pose. In May, some industry leaders and scientists went as far as to claim AI is as great a threat to humanity as nuclear war.

The analogy between both fields is gaining increasing traction and influential figures, including OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman and the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, have proposed the establishment of an international agency akin to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

But they are very different types of technology, and the nuclear governance model would not work at all well for AI.…  Seguir leyendo »

Screen displaying the logo of ChatGPT, the conversational artificial intelligence software application developed by OpenAI. Photo by LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images.

The mass adoption of generative AI – programmes designed to generate ‘new’ content – in some parts of the world has sparked important debates on the responsible development and deployment of this technology, and how to mitigate its risks.

Just as Rishi Sunak is set to discuss the UK’s role in developing international regulation of AI with Joe Biden, a number of industry leaders from the field have co-signed a one-sentence statement warning of the ‘risk of extinction from AI’.

While regulatory responses have been slow compared to the mass deployment of generative AI, policies and legislative processes are starting to take shape across many jurisdictions.…  Seguir leyendo »

How to regulate digital platforms, the last fortress for democratic and participatory civic engagement.

Digital platform regulation is in the spotlight again. Amid questions around competition, allegations of shortcomings in stewardship and lawsuits alleging negligence, calls to regulate digital platforms by governments, the media and  civil society are louder than ever. But this is a discordant chorus: its volume should not mask the wide divergence in approaches to platform regulation playing out round the world.

Allegations have been levelled at platforms for their role in amplifying hateful content during the violence in   Myanmar. More recently, a lawsuit has been filed in Kenya against Meta on the basis that its recommendations systems magnified hateful and violent posts in the context of the Ethiopian civil war.…  Seguir leyendo »

Alarmist narratives on AI detract from the existing ethical and legal risks stemming from these technologies.

The press has widely reported claims made by a Google engineer, recently placed on ‘administrative’ leave, that its AI chatbot called LaMDA ‘has become sentient’ with an ability to express and share thoughts and feelings the same way a human child would. This claim has been met with interest from the public, but also a lot of scepticism.

However, the promotion of over-hyped narratives on AI technologies is not only alarmist, it is also misleading. It carries the risk of shifting public attention away from major ethical and legal risks; framing the technology in a way that would lead to dangerous over-confidence in its reliability; and paving the way towards ethical- and legal-compliance-washing.…  Seguir leyendo »

Hacking group Red Hacker Alliance use website monitoring global cyberattacks in Dongguan, China. Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP.

The recently reported compromise of the US Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA), whose mission is to maintain safety, security and effectiveness of the country’s nuclear weapons stockpile, poses serious questions around securing the nuclear enterprise from cyberattacks.

And, as a Chatham House survey on nuclear deterrence shows, there are mixed messages and conflicting views on how best to deter an adversary from conducting cyber operations against nuclear weapons systems.

In the survey of more than 80 experts, including government officials, representatives of international organizations, civil society, academia and retired officials, most indicate the need to establish a code of conduct whereby states agree not to attack each other's nuclear assets.…  Seguir leyendo »

F-16 SimuSphere HD flight simulator at Link Simulation in Arlington, Texas, US. Photo: Getty Images.

Beyond current applications such as navigation assistance, AI could hold the potential to further assist – or even replace – humans for certain tactical tasks in military operations. For example, in the US, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently held the final round of its AlphaDogfight Trials where an algorithm controlling a simulated F-16 fighter was pitted against an Air Force pilot in virtual aerial combat. The algorithm won by 5-0. So what does this mean for the future of military operations?

The agency’s deputy director remarked that these tools are now ‘ready for weapons systems designers to be in the toolbox’.…  Seguir leyendo »

A member of the media wearing a protective face mask works in Downing Street where Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson is self-isolating in central London, 27 March 2020. Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images.

Complex systems models have played a significant role in informing and shaping the public health measures adopted by governments in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, modelling carried out by a team at Imperial College London is widely reported to have driven the approach in the UK from a strategy of mitigation to one of suppression.

Complex systems modelling will increasingly feed into policymaking by predicting a range of potential correlations, results and outcomes based on a set of parameters, assumptions, data and pre-defined interactions. It is already instrumental in developing risk mitigation and resilience measures to address and prepare for existential crises such as pandemics, prospects of a nuclear war, as well as climate change.…  Seguir leyendo »

A model of a human brain is displayed at an exhibition in Lisbon, Portugal. Photo: Getty Images.

Technological progress in neurotechnology and its military use is proceeding apace. As early as the 1970s, brain-machine interfaces have been the subject of study. By 2014, the UK’s Ministry of Defence was arguing that the development of artificial devices, such as artificial limbs, is ‘likely to see refinement of control to provide… new ways to connect the able-bodied to machines and computers.’ Today, brain-machine interface technology is being investigated around the world, including in Russia, China and South Korea.

Recent developments in the private sector are producing exciting new capabilities for people with disabilities and medical conditions. In early July, Elon Musk and Neuralink presented their ‘high-bandwidth’ brain-machine interface system, with small and flexible electrode threads packaged into a small device containing custom chips and to be inserted and implanted into the user’s brain for medical purposes.…  Seguir leyendo »